FNV NEWSLETTER
August 14 2002
In this week's issue
*HIP HOP NEWS SHORTS
*ZULU NATION GEARS UP FOR 29TH ANNIVERSARY
*KRS TO HOLD CONFERENCE ON 9-11
*SAD NEWS FOR SNOOP DOGG
*HIP HOP PIONEERS GEAR UP FOR DISCO KING MARIO TRIBUTE
*AFRIKA BAMBAATAA EXPLAINS THE MEANING OF HIP HOP
The FNV Newsletter c 2002
Send comments to
mrdaveyd@aol.com
peep the websites
www.daveyd.com
www.rapstation.com
===========================
HIP HOP NEWS SHORTS...
Nas Says 'No' to Jay-Z's Pay Per View Emcee Challenge. As you may
recall Jay-Z publicly challeneged Nas to a battle on pay perview for a
million dollars. The proceeds would go to charity. He is quoted as
saying that Pay Per view is for wrestlers and boxers and that if Jigga
wants to battle he should they should both drop albums on the same day
and let the public decide...mmmm What about the kids? What about all
that money for the kids?
Speaking of battles.. As promised I have to acknowledge defeat to Bay
Area rapper Motion Man. Motion is on a roll right now as he is
featured on Linkin' Park's Reanimation CD. Him and Kutmasta Kurt did
a great job reworking the song In The End [Enth E nd]. His new album
which features cuts with Biz Markie, E-40 and Kool Keith to name a few
is off the hook. It definitely adds to the Bay Area repetoire of dope
material that have been recently released.
So while Motion is on a roll, he came through the other day and
brought some of that heat to his Madden Game.. In months past I have
left his ass wondering why he played. The other night he had me turn
off the machine at half time because the score was one sided. Props
to him.. Next time I'll no better then to play while sick..
In other news... Big shout out to Grandmaster Flash who had the
priveldge of playing before the Prime Minister of England-Tony Blair,
The Queen of England and one billion people who were tuned into to
watch the closing ceremonies of the Common Wealth Games in Manchester
England earlier this month. For Flash who it was a crowning moment in
a long career that saw him turn the turn table into an instrument and
lay down much of the critical foundation that spawned and now
substains Hip Hop deejaying. Flash is set to introduce a new deejay
mixer that he designed later on this month. For folks who are hear in
the Bay Area.. Flash will be performing this weekend at the DNA
Lounge.
People are sitting around a bit peeved at Virgin records for backing
out of their promise to pay for the funeral of Aaliyah. As folks may
recall she tragically died in aplane crash along with 7 members of her
entourage. A couple of the people who parrished were also on staff
for her record label. According to AP Newswire reports;
Loretta Turner of Butlers Funeral Homes and Crematorium in Nassau told
Time magazine that Virgin backed out on a verbal agreement to pay for
the transport of the bodies of Aaliyah and eight others killed in the
August 2001 small plane crash. Turner said she's out $68,000 and even
appealed to the U.S. embassy in Nassau for help.
Robert Spragg, the attorney for Aaliyah's parents, told Time that
Aaliyah's family was told they'd be reimbursed for funeral expenses
but haven't gotten anything. According to Time, the two executives
who allegedly made the promises are no longer with the company.
There is also talk that Virgin may have backed out because of mounting
financial difficulties.
Russell Simmons and Hip Hop Summit Action Network [HHSAN] are gearing
up to do a number of political rallies in 20 cities throughout the
country. They are hoping to have the type of turnout and success they
had earlier this summer when 100 thousand people showed up in front of
New York's City Hall to protest budget cut to schools. Mayor
Bloomberg took alook outside saw all sorts of people up in arms and
quickly reversed his decision.
In other news, Hip Hop activist Kevin Powell wants us to know... that
Hip Hop Speaks returns to Riverside Church in Harlem] on September 23
for another forum. The last event which took place in June [also at
Riverside Church] and centered on the issue of fatherhood attracted
over 2000 people. The doors will open at 6PM. The program will be a
YOUTH TOWNHALL MEETING and the topic will be EDUCATION, featuring
several teen/youth speakers.
Kevin stated that...given the recent City Hall education rally
organized by Russell Simmons, Ben Muhammad, and the Hiphop Summit
Action Network, Hiphop Speaks feels it is necessary to continue this
important dialogue by offering young people a space to talk about
EDUCATION and everything that that word means to them. Hiphop Speaks
believes that a quality EDUCATION is a human right, not a privilege,
and that budget cuts to education, after-school programs, or other
activities that can help young people improve their lives are equal to
turning our backs on our communities and our future.
For more information or to set up an information/organization table,
email us at hiphopspeaks2001@aol.com. You can also phone us at
718-399-0695 between the hours of 9AM and 6PM, Monday-Friday.
================================
ZULU NATION GEARS UP FOR 29TH ANNIVERSARY
by - Davey D
Hip Hop's oldest organization, The Universal Zulu Nation is gearing up
to celebrate its 29th Anniversary and the 28th Anniversary of Hip-Hop
Culture. This is all going down on November 8th-10th, 2002 in New
York City. This year UZN will be paying tribute to the Fathers of
Funk including James Brown, Sly & The Family Stone and George Clinton.
For those who don't know, Funk is Hip Hop's precursor. We will soon
have an article that breaks all this down...This anniversary will also
be paying tribute to Hip Hop's founding fathers Afrika Bambaataa, Kool
DJ Herc, Grand Master Flash There will also be panel discussions,
special performances as wellas deejaying, mcing and bboying
competitions. For more information on Vending & Sponsorship Call us @
(212)330-8265
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KRS TO HOLD CONFERENCE ON 9-11
by - Davey D
KRS-One and his Temple of Hip Hop are continue to make it happen.
Currently they are hard at work making preparations for an up coming
conference that will be held in Los Angeles on 9-11. KRS says he
wants the event to be Hip Hop's International Response to the
terrorist that took place last year.
They will have prominent speakers from Hiphop Kulture, Government
Officials, true Hiphoppas and Media makers gather to talk about
Hiphop's revelance in world culture and what part we play in bringing
balance perspective between terrorism and freedom fighting. On a side
note, we should note that Kam also plans to drop an album called
'Self' on September 11. I'm not sure if he'll be a apart of KRS's
celebration... Hopefully they hook up since Kam is based in LA. We
will keep you posted on who will be attending. In the meantime folks
may wanna check for a brand new album from KRS called Prophets vs
Profits. Its a slamming CD and KRS sounds like he's hungry and ready
to rip mics. It's a precursor to his Kristal album.
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SAD NEWS FOR SNOOP DOGG
by Davey D
Sad news for Snoop Dog and his family. We have been getting reports
that yesterday his brother in law was shot and killed by Las Vegas
police after some sort of altercation which resulted in an 11 hour
standoff and gunshots being fired at officers. According to news
reports the man before he was shot had asked to speak with Snoop.
Here's the story as reported by local Las Vegas TV station News 13.
Details are still sketchy. The incident itself had nothing to do with
any sort of drama involving Snoop or Hip Hop. But anytime we have
loss of life it's sad so we offer our condolences to his
family...we'll keep you posted..
We also want to offer condolences to the family of up and coming
popular Miami rapper Joker [Joseph Gonzales]. He was being driven
in a car by his producer the other day when it lost control and flipped into
an on coming truck. Local south Florida radio stations have been flooded
with phone calls from distraught fans who have been calling requesting his
records.
-----------------------------------------
HIP HOP PIONEERS GEAR UP FOR DISCO KING MARIO TRIBUTE
by - Davey D
This Saturday August 17th from 12pm-7pm at the Big Park which is off
Croes Avenue in the Bronx, Hip Hop pioneers will be gathering in masse
for the annual tribute and celebration for the Late Disco King Mario.
For those who are unfamiliar Mario was one of Hip Hop's pioneering
deejays who was a main fixture but never achieved the worldwide fame
that fellow DJs like Afrika Bambaataa, Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash
received. In fact Mario was the one who helped Bambaataa get started
as a deejay. He used to loan Bam his dj equipment. Later on Bam
would face Mario in his first official DJ battle. Back in the early
days it was Disco King Mario who was at the top of heap and the man to
beat He was staple in early Hip Hop whose name and his crew Chuck
Chuck City was mentioned on many of the early tapes.
Disco King Mario who lived upstairs from my man DJ Paradise of X-Clan
over in the Bronxdale Housing projects, was best known for doing jams
in the park. In fact he was the deejay that made that whole concept
popular. Like DJ Kool Herc, Mario had a nice sound system that would
attract people from miles around to what was known as 'The Big Park'
which was right next to the sprawling projects. We should note that
this year's theme is focused on 'The Spirit of the Park'
This year there will be performances from Hip Hop pioneering crews
like The Soul Sonic Force, The Cold Crush Brothers and The Crash Crew.
Also in the house will be The Furious Five, The Funky Four, The
Treacherous Three, DJ Red Alert, Grandmixer DST, Infinity Rappers,
T-La Rock, Awesome 2,Coco Channel, Gang Starr, Greg Nice, Lord Finesse
and many more. It is being hosted by Kid Islam. Big shout out and
major props to Queen Anita and Big Jeff who are putting on this event.
===========================
BAMBAATAA EXPLAINS THE MEANING OF HIP HOP
by - Afrika Bambaataa
The Universal Zulu Nation calls on the World to recognize the whole
month of November as HIP HOP HISTORY MONTH! The official birthday of
the Universal Zulu Nation is November 12, 1973. The official birthday
of Hip Hop is November 12th, 1974.
With consideration to the above mentioned dates, nothing makes more
sense than to celebrate Hip Hop culture and it's history during
November, which is exactly what the Universal Zulu Nation has been
doing for over 27 + years. November is also significant in the fact
that it kicks off the "indoor jam season". The Hip Hop community
jams, enjoyed outdoors in the parks, throughout the Summer, had to
move indoors for about 7 months to community centers, gymnasiums,
schools etc. for the Fall and Winter seasons. The Hip Hop World
should recognize this month and pay tribute to those who laid the
foundation and paved the way as well as to those who continue to
preserve the rich tradition of the culture.
In the early years of the culture, the movement went untitled until
Afrika Bambaataa, started calling it "Hip Hop", a term originated by
Lovebug Starski. In the 70's, ten years prior to it's gaining global
recognition, Hip Hop was a celebration of life gradually developing
each of it's elements to form a cultural movement. Due to it's
energy, dynamics, and momentum, Hip Hop culture has become,
ultimately, a key to upliftment and reformation, as well as a
billion-dollar industry.
From the 80's on, the Rap industry and media have helped to make the
terms "Hip Hop" and "Rap" synonymous, leaving out the other elements
included in the culture. In light of this enormous oversight, the
Zulu Nation promotes the "5th element" of Hip Hop, which is KNOWLEDGE,
and actively tries to educate the masses about the history and
foundational elements of true Hip Hop culture.
Bambaataa declared: "When we made Hip Hop, we made it hoping it would
be about peace, love, unity and having fun so that people could get
away from the negativity that was plaguing our streets (gang violence,
drug abuse, self hate, violence among those of African and Latino
descent). Even though this negativity still happens here and there,
as the culture progresses, we play a big role in conflict resolution
and enforcing positivity."
Hip Hop is the Vehicle to Deliver Innumerable Lessons! Afrika
Bambaataa doesn't believe that Hip Hop heads should just have
knowledge of Hip Hop. He promotes and proves that Hip Hop can be used
as a vehicle for teaching awareness, knowledge, wisdom, understanding,
freedom, justice, equality, peace, unity, love, respect,
responsibility and recreation, overcoming challenges, economics,
mathematics. science, life, truth, facts and faith.
The Elements:
Hip Hop culture is defined as a movement which is expressed through
various artistic mediums which we call "elements". The main elements
are known as MC'ing (Rapping), DJ'ing, WRITING (Aerosol Art), SEVERAL
DANCE FORMS (which include Breaking, Up-Rocking, Popping, and Locking)
and the element which holds the rest together: KNOWLEDGE. There are
also other elements such as Vocal Percussion/Beat Boxing, Fashion,
etc. Within the past 20 years, Hip-Hop culture has greatly influenced
the entertainment world with its creative contributions in music,
dance, art, poetry, and fashion.
Due to their lack of knowledge about the whole of Hip Hop culture,
many of our world's youth are mistaken in thinking that activities
such as: smoking blunts, drinking 40's, wearing a designer label
plastered across their chest, carrying a gun, or going to strip clubs,
are "Hip Hop". Hip Hop is being portrayed negatively by many artists
who work in the element of Rap (emceeing), and this negativity is
usually instigated and promoted by the record industry and various
other corporations who exploit the culture at the expense of the
youth's state of mind and morality. The Universal Zulu Nation
believes there is a difference in speaking out about negativity
(activism) and promoting it as a desirable lifestyle. Gangsters,
pimps, playas, hustlers, niggers, spics, and many other derogatory
words once used against us are now self employed in our everyday
vocabulary. Our ancestors who have fought and died trying to free us
from these sicknesses and slave mentality are probably turning over in
their graves! Bambaataa asks you to just think about this, "How in
the hell did we turn from gods to dogs?"
Afrika Bambaataa encourages you to do more research about our story,
his/her-story, and what you think is your mystery is actually your
history. Where are our Hip Hop thinkers, lawyers, holistic doctors,
scientists, agriculturalists/herbalists, revolutionaries, politicians,
judges, researchers, teachers, police, army, accountants,
anthropologists, etc. Where is our own Hip Hop Museum? Many talk the
talk but don't walk the walk. Many straight out sell-out to the
liberation of our people as well as to all humans on the planet so
called Earth! He also encourages you to do research on any Hip Hop
organization that deals with consciousness and the upliftment of all
people. To all those who purposely make up your own history and lie
about the culture- DO YOUR RESEARCH!
You can contact the Universal Zulu Nation at their main website
http://www.zulunation.com/ and to explore links to other Zulu chapters
and websites.
Thank you in advance for forwarding this announcement to everyone you
know!
Peace and Blessings Afrika Bambaataa & the entire Universal Zulu
Nation.
As we say in Zulu - respect the many universes and especially mother
earth - cause if you don't she will spit your asses out!
======================================
The FNV Newsletter c 2002
Send comments to mrdaveyd@aol.com
peep the websites
www.daveyd.com
www.rapstation.com
